Permanent Premises of the International Criminal Court

​The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. This website was created specifically for a design competition in 2008 to design a new International Criminal Court building. The three winning designs were selected by the jury from 19 entries from all over the world on the basis of criteria as incorporation into the urban fabric and surrounding landscape, architecture, safety and sustainability.
ICC's current website is at: www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/Home.aspx.

A worldwide architectural design competition for the construction of the International Criminal Court's permanent premises was launched today. The aim of this unique project, organised by the Chief Government Architect of The Netherlands, is to select the best architect and design that will be realised in the construction of the new building on a prime site covering over 72,000 m², bordering the North Sea dunes and The Hague.

The ICC and the host State of The Netherlands share the conviction that the new purpose built premises should provide suitable working conditions, functionality and security, whilst fulfilling an ecological remit. Within the premises, up to 1,200 workstations, courtrooms, and various ancillary facilities will have to be provided with a total gross floor space of up to 46,000 m². Furthermore, parking facilities as well as plans for further expansion for up to 300 workstations are foreseen. Therefore, the spatial and functional design should take into account the need for long-term flexibility.

To ensure anonymity and for technical purposes, the working language for the competition will be English. All candidates wishing to apply for submission should do so before the deadline, from which up to 20 participants will be chosen. The competition brief will then be sent to those selected in May 2008. Each contributor that submits a design concept in-line with the requirements laid down in the brief shall receive a fee of € 35.000. The three prize winners will be chosen from this group.

The competition time schedule is:

Deadline for entry submission

1st April 2008

Selection of participants

16th May 2008

Brief received, design and proposal submitted

May until August 2008

Designs evaluated and prize-winners chosen

30th/31st October 2008

The jury will award three prizes for the best designs:

1st prize: € 60.000
2nd prize: € 50.000
3rd prize: € 40.000

International Criminal Court (ICC)
The International Criminal Court was founded in 2002 when the Rome Statute, adopted in 1998, came into force. Currently, 105 countries have become parties to this International Treaty. The ICC is an independent and permanent court that prosecutes those accused of the most serious crimes of international concern: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The establishment of this Court is a milestone in the development of international justice.

Chief Government Architect
The current Chief Government Architect, Mels Crouwel, is the chief advisor on architecture to the Rijksgebouwendienst and the Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. He oversees and promotes architectural quality and is responsible for ensuring that public buildings such as courts, prisons, museums and ministries fit into the urban landscape. He also advises the government on urban planning, the preservation and restoration of historic monuments, architectural policy and visual art in public places. Finally, he has a key role in preparing and implementing public policy on architecture.

In 2008 I was in The Hague attending an international conference for Salesforce Communities developers. The conference afforded me the opportunity to net work with other SaleForce developers and consultants, as well as visit some of our clients after the conference was over. I think Salesforce is a great platform for many businesses. As one of the most powerful platforms Salesforce when implemented properly can enhance relationships among an organization and its customers. It can permit our Salesforce certified team to help you to fully leverage its capabilities. At the conference there was a lot of discussions around Community collaboration and why Salesforce was planning on rolling out a Salesforce customer community. After the conference was over, I visited one of clients, a small boutique architectural firm. They invited me to an exhibition presenting all 19 entries for the ICC architectural competition. I was unaware of the competition until the exhibit, but was given the low down by my client. They had not participated in the architectural competition, but they were friends with several people from Mecanoo architecten whose entry did not win, but nevertheless, had garnered a lot of praise. You can see a picture of their entry below.

Foreword

The International Criminal Court (ICC) was founded in 2002 when the Rome Statute, which was adopted in 1998, came into force. Currently 105 countries have become parties to this International Treaty. The ICC is an independent and permanent court that prosecutes those accused of the most serious crimes of international concern: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The establishment of this Court is a milestone in the development of international justice.

The aim of this project is to construct permanent accommodation for the ICC on a prime site bordering the North Sea dunes and the city of The Hague and covering over 72,000 m². The ICC and the host State of The Netherlands share the conviction that the new ICC premises should provide suitable working conditions, functionality, security and ecological fit.

Within the premises, up to 1,200 workstations, courtrooms, and various ancillary facilities will have to be provided with a total gross floor space of up to 46,000 m². Furthermore, parking facilities as well as plans for two expansions of 150 workstations each are foreseen. The spatial and functional design should take into account the need for flexibility and scalability on the long term.

A worldwide architectural design competition will take place in order to select the best architect for this unique project for which this is a call for candidature. The competition is organised by the Chief Government Architect of The Netherlands. It is a restricted anonymous project competition that begins with an open application for candidature, followed by a pre-selection of up to 20 participants and a design competition.

Result

The Hague, 06 November 2008

Jury chooses best design for new International Criminal Court building an international jury chaired by Chief Government Architect of The Netherlands, Liesbeth van der Pol, has selected three winners for the international architectural competition for the new International Criminal Court building in The Hague. In the months ahead, the International Criminal Court will consult with these three firms under equal terms, starting with the winner. The International Criminal Court plans to commission work at the start of 2009 from the architect who has the best design and fulfils all the other award criteria.

Prize winners

The winning architectural firms are:

1. Ingenhoven Architects, Düsseldorf, Germany

2. Schmidt Hammer Lassen / Bosch & Fjord, Århus, Denmark

3. Wiel Arets Architects & Associates, Maastricht, The Netherlands

The three winning designs were selected by the jury from 19 entries from all over the world on the basis of criteria as incorporation into the urban fabric and surrounding landscape, architecture, safety and sustainability.

Other Notable Entries

Chipperfield Architects Ltd, London, UK

OMA Stedebouw b.v. / SeARCH b.v., Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Mecanoo architecten, Delft, The Netherlands

Nikken Sekkei Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

Prize and exhibition

The winning firms will receive cash prizes of EUR 60,000, EUR 50,000 and EUR 40,000 respectively. In addition, all three of them stand a chance of their entry being elected as the definite design for the new building. All 19 entries will be on display in the Atrium of The Hague City Hall from Wednesday 19 November to Tuesday 25 November.

Follow-up

This outcome brings us one step closer to the ultimate choice of architect for the new building on the over 72,000 m² large plot between the dunes and Van Alkemadelaan. In the months ahead, the International Criminal Court will consult with the three firms in question under equal terms, starting with the winner. It is expected the International Criminal Court will enter into a contract with the architect who has the best design and fulfils all the other award criteria at the start of 2009. It will be announced which architect is commissioned to realise the design in early 2009. The final design will be presented in 2010, after which construction can start in 2011. Work on the new building for the International Criminal Court is scheduled for completion in 2014.

On Tuesday 18 November, 2008 an exhibition presenting all 19 entries for the architectural competition will be opened in The Hague City Hall. The models of the three winning designs will also be revealed during this event. An invitation for members of the press will be sent out shortly.